Cork-retainer



UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE. i

JoHN c; Hmson, ,on MrLwAUxEE, wisconsin.

CORK-RETAINER.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,136, dated April17, 18H3.

Application mea Dr'cpmher 12, 18er. Yserial No. 257.048. (M. dem

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I,-JOHN G. HIRSOH, a citizenof the United States,residing at Milwau-V kee, in thecounty of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented a'new and useful Improvement in Cork-Retaincrs,of which the following is a specification.

" My invention relates to an improved device for temporary use inholding the Stoppers or corksfin the necks of bottles against pressureexerted from within thelatter by'gas and ten'd ing to disodge theStoppers l Y The object of my invention is to `provide a i deviceparticularly -for use in-retaining the corks inbottles while thecontents thereof (beer or other liquids) arel undergoing thePasteurizing, aging, or steaming process.

I design my device especially for use during the practice of the processof steaming or heaty ing beer in' bottles, which process is resorted tofor the effect it has of enhancing the prepressure within the bottles sogreat ythat itk servative qualities ofthe liquid. l'lhe degree of heatrequired for the purpose produces a would force out lthe corks unlessmeans were provided to counteract it. The means hitherto most commonlyemployed forthe purpose has a been strong wire bent about the necks ofthebottles and corks, and fastened to retain the corks in place. Thismeans presents objections to its employment, however, as it is difficultof application and permits/portions` of the corks to be protruded beyondthe necks of the bottles by the force of pressure exerted against themfrom withinthe bottles as a result of the steaming operation, thusrequiring longer and more expensive corksto be used than if theirpartial dislodgment were prevented.

My improvement eectually overcomes these disadvantages, since itobviates the necessity of wiring the bottles, is readilyv applied, andpermits the equally effective use of a comparaa tively shortcork,-because it prevents protrusion of any portion thereof beyond theneck of the bottle and obviates any necessity of allowa ance for suchprotrusion. f

In the drawings, Figure 1 showsin perspective a bottle-neck providedwith my improvement. Fig. presents a perspective view of a modified formof the device; and Fig. 3, asimilar view thereof, showin g anothermodilicationr A` is the corkfretainer, which I-makeofspringywire. Itcomprises wire which may be'square in cross section, as shown in Fig.2,

or round, as shown in other figures, bent hori-y y zontally upon itselfor convolved to produce Y the flat'top r, as shown in all the figuresofthe drawings, and the ends are bent'to produce ther curved parallel,orsubstantiallyparallekbails o and" substantially horizontal andparallel6ol ,misforced between the arms q to'cause them 65 to embrace the neckbelow the shoulder, and the top r to cause the latter to slide over thecork and mouth of the bottle-neck. rlhe ends ofthe f arms g may be bentoutward, as shown'at w, f to afford guides and adaptthe arms the more 7oreadily to slide into positionupon ,the bottle- 1 neck, and the topportion, may be bent up,- f

ward' slightly at its forward edge, as shout-n at w', to permit it to bereadily guided' to its seat upon the cork and top of the bottle-neck,though thel device maybe adjusted quite readily without employing 4theselguidingfeatu'res i of the construction, and Iof limit myself to them.Vf

course, do not The curvedy bail portions oof the dcviceaf-l v8o y.

ford convenient means by which to force the y cork-retainer intoposition upon the bottle and Y to pull it oli again. They alsoordinarily serve as stops, 'since whenthe portions ofthe curva- `turesstrikeagainst the head lportionmtowardY 8 5 opposite sides thereofaboveV the shoulder n,v

as they do ywhen the device is pushed into a,

place, they-prevent the top r from *beingy forced forward farther thanto'cause it to cover the top of the bottle-neck., Should the form of 9pbottle upon which theretaineris used, however, require the bails to belengthened out or render them too long as totheircurve, y, `wherebytheir stop function would be lost,

a suitablestop may be formed by bending downward the rear edge of thetopportion,v 1', asshown at afin Figpg Y V v As will` be seen, the deviceexerts a clamping i ,A

effect 'between the topportion, r, and arms q on both sides of`thecork-retainer, which op roo i crates to holdthejc'ork down firmlyin` the Y neck, and a similare'ect betweenthe arms g whereby the deviceis clamped tightly upon the bottle-neck, and in both instances thespringy nature of the construction renders it yielding to an extent thatpermits it to be sprung into place. The retainer firmly holds the corkdown, and maintains its position against even great pressure exertedagainst it through the cork from within the bottle during the process ofsteaming or heating, and its removal after the treatment by steaming orheating is readily accomplished. The top portion, r, may be made withany number of convolutions in the wire sufficient to produce a topportion, which will completely or substantially cover the cork.

It is quite important that the top portion, r, be flat, so that onelayer of bottles provided with the corkretainers may be placed and willstand steadily on another layer in the steaming-vat. This flat form ofthe top is produced by pressing theconvolutions in the wire closelytogether, whereby alsono interstices are left through which parts of thecork could be forced by the pressure against it from within the bottle.If it is desired that the surface of the top portion shall be even,instead of corrugated, as produced by round wire, square wire may beemployed, with the result shown in Fig. 2. NVhat I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A cork-retaining device comprising a strip of springy metal benthorizontally upon itself between its extremities to produce a at topportion, r, forming a practically continu-v ous plate to press upon andcompletely or substantially cover the top of the cork, and bent towardits extremities to produce vertically and outwardly lrounded bails o,and spring clamping-arms q, substantially as described.

2. A cork-retaining device comprising a strip of springy metal benthorizontally upon itself between its extremities to produce a flat topportion, r, having the convolutions laterally contiguous to form apractically continuous plate to press upon and completely orsubstantially cover the top of the cork, and bent toward its extremitiesto produce vertically and outwardly rounded bails 0, and springclamping-arms q, substantially as described.

3. A cork-retaining device 'comprising a strip of springy metal benthorizontally upon itself between its extremities to produce a dat topportion, r, bent downward toward its rear edge to produce a stop, x2,and forming a practically-continuous plate to press upon and completelyor substantially cover the top of the cork, and bent toward itsextremities to produce vertically and outwardly rounded bails o, andspring clamping-arms q, substantially as described.

- JOHN G. HIRSCH.

In presence of JOHN A. MAND, GEO. HrRsoH.

